“I don’t know what else to tell you, except that’s the story.”
Reese examined his facial features as he spoke. He was truly sorry that he had to lie to her, she could tell. She could also tell that he regretted telling her as much as he already did.
“I can’t have this shit in my life if I don’t know what’s going on, Dan. I can help you if you just tell me what the hell it is.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Damn you, Dan.” She let the words out underneath her breath.
He nodded. “Yeah, Damn me. That’s about right.”
“Stop that,” she ordered. “You have to stop acting like everything and everyone in this world is against you. I’m just pissed off. Do you know how irritating it is just to have someone hold something above your head? Well this is like a hundred times that feeling. This is my life, Dan.”
“It’s all of ours too. My family …”
She held up a hand. “Okay, I get that. Family first. It’s just that doesn’t make me feel less angry about it.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You were right, you’re part of that family, too. Everyone in this town is in a way.” He paused and then leaned toward her. “I’m trying. I want to tell you what all this involves, but I need everyone to agree. So just know I’m trying, okay?”
She set her mug on the coffee table and stood up, moving the blanket aside. “I’m trying too, Dan. I’m going back to bed.” She gestured to the couch. “Lay down and get some sleep, too. You need it.”
He didn’t respond, but she could feel him staring at her as she exited the living room. Once she was back in her bed, she lay there, wrapped in her blanket and thinking about how long it would take for the bruises on her neck and face to go away.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DAN
When he woke, his cheek was flat up against Reese’s dining table and the book he was reading had flipped closed, exposing the cover. After wiping his face, which embarrassingly had a little bit of drool on it, he quickly reached out and pulled the book closer to him.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already seen it,” Reese’s voice came from behind him.
To his horror, he actually jumped at bit at the sound of her voice. “For crying out loud, you scared the shit out of me.”
“I hope that’s not true.” She set a steaming mug of black coffee in front of him.
He turned and saw that she still had on those insanely tiny shorts and tank top she had been wearing the night before. How in the hell was he supposed to not look at her when she was strutting around in those? Her hair had been pulled up in to a big, messy bun on top of her head, exposing the purple marks on her neck. He cringed as he thought about what could have happened if she wasn’t as tough as she was.
“So …” She cracked an egg, letting the contents slip out into a bowl. “You like dirty romance books, huh?”
He felt his face flame with embarrassment. He’d never intended for her to see what he was reading. He had seen the advertisements for the movie and nothing else on her shelf looked like it would interest him. “What? No.” He sipped the coffee and then set the mug back down. “I … I was just curious.”
She held up a spoon in defense. “No judgment here. I’ve obviously read it.” Though she said she didn’t judge, he could see that she wanted to laugh by the smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “It’s not like I thought you were into that stuff or anything.”
Now that he had recovered, it was his turn to smirk. “Maybe I am.”
Her back was to him but he watched as she froze, her body going stiff. After a few second she laughed and stirred the eggs into a pan. “Well, that’s your business now isn’t it?”
“Yup.”
“You’re an ass, you know that?”
“Yes, in fact, I do know that.”
“Shit,” Reese cursed as the spatula fell on the floor. When she bent to pick it up her shorts rode so far up that he had a perfect shot of her backside. He was already looking at her and totally didn’t mean to be ‘that guy’ but it was impossible not to look.
The moment passed quickly though, thank god, because now he really did feel like an ass. She collected the spatula, stood and tossed it in the sink. Then, she turned toward him and shook her head when she saw his expression. “Well, I guess it’s only fair. I’ve seen you without your clothes.”
“I wasn’t …”
“Yes you were. I would have looked, so don’t worry. But the expression on your face looks like you just lost your virginity or something.”
“For fucks sake, Reese.”
“What?”
“One minute your all like, don’t touch me you filthy stripper and the next your bending over intentionally showing me your ass.”
“I wasn’t intentionally showing you. I dropped the spatula, and I’m just not shy around you is all.” While she was explaining, she grabbed a plastic spoon out of the container by the stove and stirred the eggs. “I just didn’t want you to feel like a dick for looking.”
He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. Women were so wishy washy. “Well, it certainly sounds like it was intentional and fuck it, yeah, I’m going to look because you happen to have a nice ass. Fuck!” His flask was on the table in front of him and he reached for it. As he picked it up, he remembered that he had emptied it during the night.
“How could a woman possibly resist your charms?” Reese joked as she slid scrambled eggs onto a plate.
“I don’t want to charm women. If I did, they wouldn’t have a chance.”
Reese burst into giggles and set a plate in front of him. When she saw that he was holding the flask, her laughing ceased and she turned away quietly. She collected her own plate and sat down across from him.
He toyed with the lid of the flask, twisting it back and forth.
After a moment of awkward silence, she finally spoke. “I know we already had this conversation, but you have to quit drinking. Which means stop hauling that flask around with you.”
Dan set it in front of him and lifted his fork. “I doubt that will ever happen.”
“Listen, I know what it’s like to hurt, to need something to numb that pain, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”
Dan huffed. The last thing he needed was another lecture from her. They just went through this the last time he was at her place. “Do you honestly think that isn’t something that every single person in my life has said to me?”
“Then maybe you should try. They wouldn’t say anything if they didn’t care about you.” Her eyes were, indeed, full of concern. Not anger or superiority, just concern for someone she cared about.
He didn’t respond, just pushed his eggs around on the plate. Even though he knew she meant well, it still felt like a lecture.
“Look, man, I’m not against drinking. I own a bar, for crying out loud. What I am against, is letting alcohol ruin your life. You aren’t doing yourself any favors right now.”
“Reese, can we just not talk about this.”
“I’m worried,” she responded flatly. “You can’t blame me for that. I’m sorry, I know we’ve covered this, but I feel like I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t say something. Like I said before, I understand pain of losing someone and how you want that pain to go away. Well guess what, it never does it just becomes tolerable. Same as growing a tolerance to drugs or booze, you are able to handle more emotionally than you could months or years before. But dude, your time of mourning is over.”
“What?” Dan was shocked, how could she be so forward.
“You need to move on with life. That doesn’t mean get a girlfriend or get married, but just do something that Anna would be proud of, ya know.”
That was it. He couldn’t take it anymore. He slipped the flask into the pocket of his jacket, which was hanging on the back of the chair. “This isn’t you’re business. Just leave it alone already.” His voice had taken on a hard edge and she definitely caught on to that.
“Oh, reall
y, it’s not? But you can make watching me twenty-four seven your business. You can make everything about me your business, but I’m not allowed to care about my friend? That is bullshit.” She dragged out the last words for emphasis.”
“That’s right.” Dan pointed at her. “You are in this situation because of us. You did not cause my drinking, you didn’t cause these problems and you didn’t fuck up my life. Actually, your one of the better things in my life. So yeah, I can make you my business because if it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have those bruises.” He threw up his hand, gesturing at the bruising that still marred her beautiful face.
“No.” She pointed her fork at him. “That’s not fair. You don’t get to care about me and not let me care about you.”
“What?”
“You heard me, dick! Why do you have to be like this? I just want you not to die or waste away because you couldn’t get away from the booze.”
He pushed his chair out and stood, grabbing his coat as he rose. He waited till after he had taken a deep breath and then released it before he spoke. “I know you mean well, but this is my life and my business. If I want to drink, I’m going to. So please, if you want to lecture or pry into someone’s life, do it to someone else.”
Her expression had gone from concerned to shocked and hurt. He felt bad, but she was making him feel bad. Leaving her in silence, he stalked through the kitchen and then right out the front door.
CHAPTER TWELVE
REESE
She watched him go, cringing when the door slammed behind him. She wasn’t sorry, though. Someone had to tell him all those things and ride his ass about the drinking. She was mad at them right now, but she loved his brothers and sisters. She just wished they would try harder with Dan. He needed support, but he also needed a giant kick in the ass.
After quickly doing the dishes and scrubbing down the kitchen, she set out her clothes and stepped into the bathroom. She started the shower and stripped off her clothes. A glance in the mirror showed her that the bruises looked worse than the day before. The handprint on her neck was absolutely disgusting. A shutter ran though her as she remembered his hand squeezing her throat and thinking that she might actually die.
They hadn’t caught the guy who had attacked her, so that meant he, or someone else, could still come after her. If they truly thought that she was a liability, they would come back.
Turning away from the mirror, she pushed those thoughts away. There wasn’t time to dwell on that. If she did, it would eat at her and cause her to live in fear … she refused to live in fear. She supposed she should be grateful that the Estmonds had placed guard on her. If she had been alone the night before, she probably wouldn’t have slept at all.
After a scalding hot shower, she dressed in jeans and a long sleeved, fitted tee shirt. She brushed her hair and wore it loose, fluffing the waves of dark brown hair around her shoulders. She applied her makeup and then decided that she needed to cover her neck. She could explain the face bruises easily enough, but the ones on her neck were harder to brush off when people asked. She found a light weight scarf with dark blue swirls all over it and wrapped it around her neck, letting the ends hang down over her breasts.
She had several errands to run before opening the bar, so she had to get to it or she wouldn’t have enough time. Grabbing her purse, she made sure that her phone was tucked inside and that she had her keys and hurried out the door.
“Oh, my god!” Her hand went to her purse and she stumbled back a few steps. “Dan! You scared the shit out of me.”
There he was, leaning casually against the wall beside the door of her apartment. He had his phone out and appeared to be perusing social media. “Sorry.” He apologized in a flat voice that sounded anything but apologetic.
She moved back to the door, made sure it was secure and then locked it. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”
Dan shrugged. “I am supposed to be protecting you. I don’t have to be in your face to do that.”
“Well it would be nice to know that you were out here, at least.”
“I didn’t feel like telling you. You’re not the only one who can be mad at someone.”
“Well.” She adjusted the strap on her purse. “I’m going to the post office and grocery shopping, are you coming?”
He nodded. “I’ll follow you over.”
“You don’t have to follow me, just ride with me.”
Silently, they made their way down the stairs and across the parking lot to her Jeep. She opened the driver side door and hopped up into the seat. Dan didn’t speak, but got into the passenger side without speaking.
At the grocery store, she got more stares than she ever had in her whole life, and that was saying a lot for a small town. Between her bruises and strolling through the isles with Daniel Estmond at her side, the people of Summer Hollow were going to have plenty to talk about for a little while. She wondered how fast it would take for the rumors to spread through town.
She glanced at Dan a couple of times as they shopped and saw that he didn’t seem bothered at all. He picked up a few things for himself and when they got to the checkout he put his stuff on the belt beside hers. “I’ll get your groceries,” he told her.
“No, you will not,” Reese protested.
“It’s the least I can do. Now let me pay.”
Frustrated, Reese shook her head. “Seriously, you don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” He paused and she stared up at him with a glare. “Please?”
“Fine.” She agreed only because he seemed to really want to. “But, don’t think that it’s because I can’t afford my own food.”
He rolled his eyes. “I know you can. This isn’t about that at all.”
Realistically, she knew that it wasn’t. This was about guilt and also when her bar furniture got busted up.
The cashier had been silently listening the entire conversation, even though they had spoken in hushed tones, she could still hear them. Her eyes had slid over Reese’s face, taking in her bruises, and then over to Dan who towered over her and insisted on buying her groceries. To an outsider, it may have appeared that he was trying to buy groceries as an apology for beating her up. She really, really hoped that was not what the cashier was thinking.
Dan paid and they left the store. More stares and whispers from people in the parking lot as they loaded the Jeep. Reese sighed and shoved a bag in the back. “The entire town is going to have us pegged as an abusive couple by morning,” she told him.
He shrugged. “I disagree. They know you, they know me and they know that I’d never hit a woman. I’m flattered they think we’re a couple, though.”
She flushed at the thought of her and Dan being a couple. “What they know, Dan, is that you are an alcoholic now and they probably assume that abuse fits right into that type of lifestyle.”
He straightened. “Fuck that. I don’t care how fucked up I am, I’d never hit you or any woman. I’d never even hit a guy for no reason.”
“I know,” Reese assured him in a soft voice. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
He slammed the back of the Jeep shut. “No, you’re right. It’s part of the stereotype. I shouldn’t be surprised. And with your bruises…”
“Let’s go.” She climbed up behind the wheel. I have to get these put away and get ready for work.
On the way back to the bar, Dan got a phone call and proceeded to say things like. ‘Okay, what time and I’ll be there.’ When he clicked off he glanced over at Reese and announced, “I have a job tonight.”
Why in the world did he think she cared?
Who was she kidding? She did care. Now that she knew he was off showing his body to all kinds of women and grinding around in their faces, she didn’t like it at all. “Well, have fun. Don’t pull a muscle.”
He ignored the sarcasm and continued, “I’m going to have James come over and sit with you.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be in
a bar full of people.”
He leaned back in the seat. “Don’t argue. It’s happening.”
She realized that there was nothing she could do and that she was going to have to tolerate the fact that someone was going to be around her at all times now until the threat on her life was no longer there. “Fine,” she agreed.
They made quick work of unloading the Jeep and putting the groceries away. She had to admit, it was kind of nice having someone to help with lugging all the bags upstairs. Usually she did it all by herself and it was a total pain in the ass. She often found herself loaded down with so many sacks in each hand that she could barely walk, just to cut down on the number of trips.
“Okay.” She clapped her hands together. “That’s done. Now I’ve got to go prep for opening.” Neither of them mentioned it, but that was when she had been attacked the previous day.
They entered the bar and Dan immediately checked every nook and cranny, just in case someone was hiding in there. When he was finished, he asked her what she wanted him to do. Surprised at the offer, Reese answered, “If you could get the chairs down and place them at the tables that would be great.”
“Will do.” He told her and began the task while she made sure the ice was filled and there were enough garnishes. Right before it was time to open, someone pounded on the main entrance door.
Dan held up his hand, indicating for her to be silent and that he would take care of it. His hand hovered at his side as he crept toward the door. “Who’s there?” he called out.
“It’s your brother you douche, open the door.” James’s muffled voice filtered through the thick metal as Dan reached over and flipped the bolt locks. He pulled open the door and James breezed inside, limping a little bit, Reese noticed.
“I’m here to protect you, m’lady.” James attempted a poor imitation of a bow, complete with a grand flourish of his hand.
Reese laughed and shook her head. “I’d tell you I don’t need you here, but I’ve already argued that fact with your brother a million times in the last twenty-four hours.”
Keeper of Spirits Page 9
